


a picture you can never recreate

by nyx_aeternum



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Crossing Borders, I have a lot of headcanons about Nyx Ulric, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, NyxUlricAppreciationWeek2020, NyxUlricWeek2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24827497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyx_aeternum/pseuds/nyx_aeternum
Summary: Nyx enjoys antagonizing Cor, but sometimes it brings back memories he doesn't intend to reflect on.
Relationships: Cor Leonis/Nyx Ulric
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	a picture you can never recreate

“Do you remember the first day I met you?” Cor grunts, pulling his katana from the training dummy. “No, really, do you?”

“Of course I do,” he says with a sigh, looking up at Nyx. “You were such an annoying brat, it’d be hard to forget.” 

Nyx laughs, kicking his legs against the wall from his seat on the ledge overlooking the training grounds. “You loved me from the minute you saw me.”

“You were a punk who couldn’t even say his own name straight.”

“It’s not my fault! I just died!” 

Cor’s expression grows carefully neutral, and Nyx knows he maybe shouldn’t have said that last part. His mortality was something of a sore spot for the legendary Immortal. The fact that Nyx had already brushed past the brink of death only serves to put Cor on edge. 

“Come on,” he says, warping forward to stand at Cor’s side. “Lots of stuff happened besides that. His Majesty gained a loyal follower or two, Clarus came to know the biggest headache he’ll ever meet in his life—“

“Believing that Clarus thinks you’re a bigger headache than me is laughable, Ulric—“

“And we met.” Cor falls silent and Nyx grins, tracing that furrowed brow with a finger before poking him in the forehead. “That was the luckiest day of your life.”

“The luckiest day of my life was fighting Gilgamesh and not dying. The luckiest day of _your_ life was the day we met, because if Regis took a fraction of a second longer you wouldn’t be standing in front of me right now.”

“Did you think you’d be in love with me when you saw me on that gurney?” he asks, ignoring Cor’s statement. 

Cor rolls his eyes and turns back to the training dummy. “I knew you were gonna be a pain in my ass,” he says with a grunt, slashing at it. “Cracking jokes at your friends’ expense while they carried you off the boat. I couldn’t believe Regis saddled me with babysitting duty.” 

“We were revolutionaries.” Nyx cackles at the expression on Cor’s face, warping out of the way to avoid the swipe of his katana where the Glaive was standing seconds before. “Come on, you admired our resolve! You said it!”

“I have no memory of such a thing,” Cor deadpans. Nyx lands on his back in the sand and stares up at the sky, remembering the day he left Galahd behind. It was pouring rain, angry thunder and flashes of lightning overhead, mixing with the sound of bullet sprays as Niflheim sought to crush the Galahdan rebellion before Insomnia could come to its aid. He remembers his sister’s cry, the pain in his back as he watched the world fade to black, unable to reach her, and the sudden, nerve wracking pain of being forced back to life with a Phoenix Down. Nyx hadn’t felt anything nearly as painful since.

He remembers Regis’ face, being dragged away from the fighting by Clarus, begging for the Lucian King to save her, save Selena, nothing else matters—

Something taps his foot and his eyes shoot open, staring at a cloud heavy with grey clouds that refused to rain. Underneath him a boat rocks, and in the distance he can hear gunfire, the roar of wild beasts and creak of Iron Giants. He tilts his head to find a much younger looking Cor frowning down at him, looking a little queasy as the boat rocked and he is nearly thrown off balance.

“Can you move?” Cor asks when the wave passes. 

“Where am I?” is his response. He tries to push himself up onto his elbows, but his body doesn’t seem to want to cooperate.

“On your way to Insomnia,” Cor says, and he covers his mouth and furrows his brow as another angry wave rocks them. Libertus’ worried gaze swims into view, and from the corner of his eye Nyx can see Luche and Pelna. “Can you move or not?”

Nyx tries again, managing to lift his head, but it takes a tremendous amount of effort. Nothing else moves with him. “That’s it,” he groans, letting his head drop back down. Cor lets out a string of curses and Libertus sits behind Nyx to prop him up. As he’s pushed into a sitting position, he notices the silhouette of Insomnia looming on the horizon.

“Welcome to our new home, boys,” Luche says bitterly.

There’s another tap on his foot and he jerks up into a sitting position, gasping for a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Cor holds out a hand to help him up into a standing position. “Someday you’ll go back,” Cor says, and his voice is gruff like it normally is when he’s _feeling things._

Nyx just smiles, a little sad, the memory of Selena’s last smile, her quiet laugh, popping into his thoughts. “It won’t be the same.”

Cor doesn’t argue, but he pulls Nyx from the training grounds, nudges him into the car and drives to the skewer stand Nyx and his friends frequented. They were already there, and Luche hands him a skewer with a solemn nod.

“Hey Nyx,” Libertus starts, and somehow Nyx already knows he’s going to hate what pops out of Libertus’ mouth next. “Remember when Cor had to clean your ass?”

**Author's Note:**

> In short, Nyx was shot in the back while trying to shield his sister from Niflheim weaponry. They both died reaching for each other, but Regis was able to save Nyx because his injuries were less severe. Nyx's determination to repay Regis for saving his life is the reason why Nyx went through many surgeries and months of rehab to join the Glaive.


End file.
